Ehrlichia bacteria are obligate intracellular pathogens that infect circulating lymphocytes in mammalian hosts. Ehrlichia canis and Ehrlichia chaffeensis are members of the same sub-genus group that infect canines and humans and cause canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) and human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), respectively. Another species of Ehrlichia known as Ehrlichia ewingii has tropism for granulocytes and causes granulocytic ehrlichiosis. The canine disease is characterized by fever, epilepsy, incoordination, lethargy, bleeding episodes, lymphadenopathy, weight loss, and pancytopenia. In humans the disease is characterized by fever, headache, myalgia, and leukopenia. Early detection and treatment are important for treating both canine and human ehrlichiosis.
Indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) have typically been used in the diagnosis of these diseases. These assays measure or otherwise detect the binding of anti-Ehrlichia antibodies from a subject's blood, plasma, or serum to infected cells, cell lysates, or partially purified whole Ehrlichia proteins. However, currently known assays for detecting anti-Ehrlichia antibodies or fragments thereof are severely limited in usefulness because of sensitivity and specificity issues directly related to the impure nature of the Ehrlichia antigen(s) used in these tests. That is, the currently known assays use mixtures of many whole Ehrlichia antigens or antigens that are not species specific.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for additional assays for detecting Ehrlichia antigens and serodiagnosis of monocytic ehrlichiosis and granulocytic ehrlichiosis.